10 November 2010

Please welcome Destri to Narrating Life today. Destri is the founder of the wonderful blog, The Mother Huddle, and I'm fairly convinced that she is a wonder woman. If you don't already read TMH...well...it's obvious what I'm going to tell you to do. In the meantime, here is Destri's current favorite handmade gift.

I have to admit it wasn't until the last few years that I truly understood the value of a handmade gift. I have always loved them, but I don't think I appreciated the time and thought that went into them until I started giving them myself. The whole process involves a bit more passion and results in much more emotion than simply picking up something that is on sale. Even if it is something simple, for some reason it ends up more memorable.

For instance, I only have a few friends that I exchange gifts with every year, and only one from high school. Even if it has been a year since we have talked, every year we manage to give a gift for Christmas. She has usually always bought me something nice for my home or some fun smelly lotions. But the year I remember best is the year she was unemployed. She came into my work with a single caramel apple, wrapped up all pretty in a cellophane bag and ribbon. This wasn't your ordinary caramel apple, it had about five different layers of goodness. What made this significant, is that this came from a girl I had never known to step foot into the kitchen. She informed me that she made it all by herself, and that it was in fact the best caramel apple I would ever eat, and I had better like it, because that was all she was giving for Christmas that year. To date that was the most memorable thing she ever gave me, and by far my favorite.

She is just taking up sewing and so this year I am giving her something to help get her started. A pin plate and a bundle of fat quarters. I don't know about others who sew, but when I am sewing I usually wind up taking a bunch of pins out of the pincushion and lay on the table, it's just easier. Then I saw a pin plate, genius! I love mine at the side of my sewing machines for easy pin placement too. They are so easy to make. Here is how:

Find a small pretty plate. I found this one at an antique shop for $3.00, score!

Take one large magnet disc or a few small ones and some heavy duty glue, I like E-6000.

Add a little glue to the back where the magnets will go.

Put the magnets on the glue, and watch them try to slide together, kinda cool. Hold them in place for a minute, and let dry.

Viola'! You have a magnetic pin plate. In this picture I am holding the plate up, the pins stay on! Am I the last to have seen these? Or have been all the rage for years, and I am just getting wind of them. Either way, they are simple to make and are the perfect little gift for the seamstresses in your life.

Tie one to the top of a yard of pretty fabric, or a fun pattern and you're one handmade present down, in about five minutes!

Like Miranda said, it's not too late to add a few handmade things to you gift list this year, just pick one or two more time intensive projects, and a few easy ones like this and you'll have a less stressful season!Thanks for having me, and a big thank you to Miranda for inviting me to her happy little place on the web!Handmade Holiday 2010: A series about making it happen.